Article vending machine and method for exchanging an inoperable article for an operable article

• US 9,542,661 B2
• Filed: 03/25/2015
• Issued: 01/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Redbox Automated Retail LLC (Chicken Soup For The Soul Holdings LLC)
• Original Assignee: Redbox Automated Retail LLC (Chicken Soup For The Soul Holdings LLC)
• Inventors: Lowe, J. Mitchell, Hoersten, Eric, Kapcar, Christopher A.
• Primary Examiner(s): COLLINS, MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US14/668,921
• Publication Number:
  US 20150199666A1
• Time in Patent Office: 657 Days
• Field of Search: 700/231, 700/232, 700/236, 700/237, 700/241
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/407 Cancellation of a transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0237 at kiosk
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0645 Rental transactions; Leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/54 about vertical axes

Abstract

An article vending machine in a network of article vending machines capable of exchanging an inoperable rental article received from a user for an operable replacement article. The article dispensing machine checks customer identification information against one or more customer rental criteria to determine if the customer is eligible to exchange an inoperable article for an operable one. The article vending machine searches for an identical replacement article within an inventory of the machine itself and within inventories of the networked article vending machines. Alternatively, the article vending machine may provide a refund for the inoperable article.

Claims

1. An article vending machine configured to receive an inoperable article and provide a refund for rental of the inoperable article, the article vending machine comprising:

a user interface configured to receive, from a customer, a request to initiate a return of an inoperable article for a refund;

a receptacle for receiving the inoperable article;

a selector arm for transferring articles within the article vending machine, the selector arm being configured to;

engage the inoperable article at a first position proximate to the receptacle,

transfer the inoperable article from the first position to a second position within the first article vending machine, and

disengage the inoperable article at the second position;

an inventory comprised of a plurality of articles;

a memory containing a database identifying each inoperable article that has been received; and

a processor in communication with the user interface and the memory, and configured using program code to;

determine if the customer is ineligible to receive a refund for a rental cost of the inoperable article,

if the customer is ineligible, prevent a refund for the rental cost of the inoperable article,

receive a request from a service person via the user interface to purge all inoperable articles, and

in response to the request to purge, access the database to identify each article identified as inoperable, and

provide for removal, from the second position, each of the identified inoperable articles.

2. The article vending machine of claim 1, wherein the articles are automatically dispensed via the receptacle in response to the request from the service person to purge all of the articles identified as inoperable in the database.

3. The article vending machine of claim 1, wherein the selector arm includes a picker device that is configured, in response to receiving the request to purge, to engage each inoperable article in the second position within the article vending machine, and to continue engaging the inoperable article while the selector arm transfers the article from the second position to the receptacle.

4. The article vending machine of claim 1, wherein the selector arm includes a conveying device that is configured to dispense the inoperable articles through the receptacle by transferring the inoperable articles towards the receptacle.

5. The article vending machine of claim 1, wherein the program code is further configured to determine if the inventory includes a replacement article that is identical to the inoperable article, and if it does, provide, via the user interface, an option to receive the identical replacement article from the inventory.

6. The article vending machine of claim 5, wherein the program code is further configured to provide the refund in response to determining that the article vending machine inventory does not include an identical replacement article.

7. The article vending machine of claim 5, wherein the program code is further configured to, in response to determining that the inventory does not include an identical replacement article, provide, via the user interface, an option to receive a non-identical replacement article from the inventory.

8. The article vending machine of claim 1, wherein the determination of whether a customer is ineligible to receive a refund for the inoperable article is based, at least in part, on at least one customer criterion selected from the group consisting of number of returned inoperable articles, frequency of returns of inoperable articles, percentage of transactions resulting in a return of an inoperable article, and time of last return of an inoperable article.

9. The article vending machine of claim 1, wherein the determination of whether a customer is ineligible to receive a refund is based on whether the customer is identified in an inoperable article refund blacklist stored in the memory.

10. The article vending machine of claim 1, wherein the program code is further configured to:

read an article identifier from the inoperable article;

based on the article identifier, identify a database entry for the inoperable article in the database; and

modify the database entry for the inoperable article to indicate that the corresponding article is inoperable.

11. The article vending machine of claim 10, wherein the program code is further configured to delete the database entries of the inoperable articles that are removed from the article vending machine in response to the request to purge.

12. A network of article vending machines comprising:

a first article vending machine comprising;

an inventory comprised of a plurality of articles,

a receptacle for receiving an inoperable article,

a selector arm for transferring articles within the first article vending machine, the selector arm being configured to;

engage the inoperable article at a first position proximate to the receptacle,

transfer the inoperable article from the first position to a second position within the first article vending machine, and

disengage the inoperable article at the second position, and

a user interface configured to receive, from a customer, a request to initiate a return of the inoperable article for a refund;

a plurality of remote article vending machines in communication with the first article vending machine, each remote article vending machine having an inventory of a plurality of articles;

a memory configured to store one or more databases, the one or more databases including a list of the articles included in the inventory of the first article vending machine; and

a processor configured using program code to;

determine if the customer is ineligible to receive a refund for a rental cost of the inoperable article,

if the customer is ineligible, prevent a refund for the rental cost of the inoperable article,

receive a request from a service person via the user interface to purge all inoperable articles,

in response to the request to purge, access the one or more databases to identify each article identified as inoperable in the first article vending machine, and

provide for removal, from the second position, each of the identified inoperable articles from the first article vending machine.

13. The network of article vending machines of claim 12, wherein the articles are automatically dispensed via the receptacle of the first article vending machine in response to the request from a service person to purge all inoperable articles.

14. The network of article vending machines of claim 12, wherein the program code is further configured to determine if the inventory of the first article vending machine includes a replacement article that is identical to the inoperable article, and if it does, provide, via the user interface, an option to receive the identical replacement article.

15. The network of article vending machines of claim 14, wherein the program code is further configured to, in response to determining that the inventory of the first article vending machine does not contain an identical replacement article:

determine whether the inventories of the plurality of remote vending machines comprise an identical replacement article;

in response to determining that one or more of the inventories contains the identical replacement article, transmit, to the user interface, an identification of the one or more remote vending machines comprising the identical replacement article; and

provide, via the user interface, an option to reserve the identical replacement article at one of the one or more remote vending machines.